writer：Zhu, Y.; Wang, M.; Huang, J.; Mi, H.; Xu, Z.; Wu, F.; Chen, L.*; Yang, H.*; Chen, Y.*
keywords：Liquid Crystal Elastomer
source：期刊
specific source：Macromolecules, 2024, 57, 8329-8337.
Issue time：2024年

Fatigue resistance and elasticity are critical factors in extending the

service life of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) and expanding their application fields.

Currently, most of LCE-related studies focus on achieving large reversible

deformations, while research on fatigue-resistant LCE material is relatively limited.

Here, we report a facile strategy to improve the fatigue resistance of LCEs by

introducing partial dynamic sacrificial bonds (tetraarylsuccinonitrile, TASN) into

polymeric matrixes. It is found that increasing the amount of TASN units leads to a

decrease in the LC-to-isotropic phase transition temperature, topology-freezing

transition temperature, and thermal actuation strain, while concurrently resulting in an

increase in elongation at break. Most notably, the LCE-TASN materials exhibit

exceptional fatigue resistance, as evidenced by their ability to withstand 3000 cyclic

stretching with a substantial 100% strain load, and they also demonstrate rapid selfrecovery

in as little as 5 minutes. This remarkable performance is attributed to the

reversible dissociation and recombination of the dynamic central C?C bonds of the

TASN units, a feature not found in conventional LCE materials. The current work

provides insight into the design of fatigue-resistant LCEs, thereby helping to expand

the applications of LCEs.